Match Feed

The Dogs won the contested possession count by 23, their seventh best result in any game this season.

Q4 30:09

West Coast generated an inside 50 from just four of 41 defensive 50 chains and launched just one behind from this zone.

Q4 29:59

The siren has sounded to end Q4.

Q4 28:11

GOALEagles (Josh J. Kennedy)

Q4 26:51

BEHINDEagles (Elliot Yeo)

Q4 25:07

Caleb Daniel is up to a careerhigh 32 disposals. His previous high was 29 against Hawthorn in Round 3 this season.

Q4 21:54

BEHINDBulldogs (Rushed)

Q4 17:20

BEHINDBulldogs (Rushed)

Q4 16:16

BEHINDBulldogs (Luke Dahlhaus)

Q4 12:30

Caleb Daniel's five goal assists is the equal most recorded by a Dog and the most since Round 10, 2009.

Q4 12:23

From Round 16 to Round 23, the Dogs kicked 40 per cent of their goals from marks, the fourthlowest percentage of any team. They have kicked 57 per cent of their goals from marks in this game.

Q4 12:21

GOALBulldogs (Jake Stringer)

Q4 10:17

BEHINDBulldogs (Marcus Bontempelli)

Q4 08:09

Marcus Bontempelli has gained 148 metres this quarter, double any other player.

Q4 08:07

GOALBulldogs (Marcus Bontempelli)

Q4 06:55

BEHINDBulldogs (Matthew Suckling)

Q4 06:09

BEHINDBulldogs (Lachie Hunter)

Q4 04:21

Josh Kennedy wins his first clearance which launches his team's first goal from this source.

Q4 04:19

GOALEagles (Mark LeCras)

Q4 01:40

The Dogs have outscored their opposition by six points per game from clearances this season. They have outscored West Coast by 27 points from this source.

Q4 01:38

GOALBulldogs (Josh Dunkley)

Q4 00:00

Q4 is now underway.

Q3 32:01

Luke Shuey has won 11 hardballgets, a career-high. His previous high was eight against Melbourne in Round 18 this season.

Q3 31:51

The siren has sounded to end Q3.

Q3 30:35

GOALEagles (Jack Darling)

Q3 28:48

BEHINDBulldogs (Tory Dickson)

Q3 25:34

Caleb Daniel is up to a gamehigh seven score involvements.

Q3 25:32

GOALBulldogs (Jordan Roughead)

Q3 23:36

The Dogs have launched 27 points from the defensive half, 25 more than West Coast.

Q3 23:34

GOALBulldogs (Josh Dunkley)

Q3 20:21

BEHINDEagles (Matt Priddis)

Q3 18:57

BEHINDEagles (Mitchell Brown)

Q3 17:47

West Coast has launched all four of its goals from forward half intercepts.

Q3 17:45

GOALEagles (Josh Hill)

Q3 16:25

BEHINDEagles (Rushed)

Q3 10:30

The Dogs have won six intercept possessions in attacking midfield this quarter and launched a goal from two of these.

Q3 10:28

GOALBulldogs (Liam Picken)

Q3 08:41

The Dogs have recorded 23 disposals in the forward half this quarter, 22 more than West Coast.

Q3 08:39

BEHINDBulldogs (Marcus Bontempelli)

Q3 05:40

Jason Johannisen has recorded three inside 50s this quarter, two more than the Eagles.

Q3 05:38

GOALBulldogs (Clay Smith)

Q3 05:10

The Dogs lead the inside 50 count 61 this quarter but they lead the quarter by just one point.

Q3 04:03

BEHINDBulldogs (Rushed)

Q3 00:20

Tom Barrass grabbed a careerhigh six intercept marks against the Crows in Round 23. He is up to three in this game.

Q3 00:00

Q3 is now underway.

Q2 27:21

Marcus Bontempelli has been quiet, recording just six disposals to halftime, but the has applied a team-high 15 pressure acts.

Q2 27:11

The siren has sounded to end Q2.

Q2 26:52

The Dogs have failed to score from their last seven inside 50s.

Q2 22:00

Mitch Brown boots a goal with his first disposal for the game. The Eagles have now scored 21 points from forward half intercepts.

Q2 21:58

GOALEagles (Mitchell Brown)

Q2 20:19

Western Bulldogs InterchangeJason Johannisen replaces Matthew Boyd due to the blood rule.

Q2 16:14

BEHINDEagles (Elliot Yeo)

Q2 14:11

The Dogs have gone inside 50 five times this quarter and they have generated a score from all of these. They have generated a score from 43 per cent of forward 50 entries this season, the lowest percentage of any finalist.

Q2 14:09

GOALBulldogs (Lachie Hunter)

Q2 13:15

Western Bulldogs InterchangeJack Macrae replaces Lin Jong and is possibly out for the game.

Q2 12:16

BEHINDBulldogs (Tom Boyd)

Q2 10:39

Caleb Daniel is up to three score assists, two more than West Coast.

Q2 10:37

BEHINDBulldogs (Tom Boyd)

Q2 10:21

Western Bulldogs InterchangeJordan Roughead off due to an injury.

Q2 09:02

Caleb Daniel has won an equal quarterhigh four disposals with two of them assisting goals for his team.

Q2 09:00

GOALBulldogs (Luke Dahlhaus)

Q2 07:22

BEHINDEagles (Josh Hill)

Q2 04:11

The Dogs have booted a goal from just 23 per cent of forward 50 entries this season, the lowest percentage of any finalist. They have booted a goal from 38 per cent of forward 50 entries in this game.

Q2 04:09

GOALBulldogs (Tory Dickson)

Q2 01:18

BEHINDEagles (Josh J. Kennedy)

Q2 00:00

Q2 is now underway.

Q1 30:05

The Dogs won the contested possession count by 10 and the tackle count by eight in the first quarter. They have lost the tackle count by six per game this season, the fourthworst differential of any side.

Q1 30:05

West Coast won the clearance count by four in the first quarter but it failed to score from this source. Its entire score was sourced from intercept possessions won in the forward half. It has scored 33 points per game from this source this season.

Q1 29:55

The siren has sounded to end Q1.

Q1 29:25

BEHINDEagles (Mark LeCras)

Q1 29:12

The Dogs lead the contested possession count by 12 with Luke Dahlhaus leading the way with seven, four more than any other Dog.

Q1 24:49

West Coast Eagles InterchangeScott Lycett off due to an injury.

Q1 23:20

BEHINDEagles (Mark LeCras)

Q1 21:20

The Dogs lead the clearance count by just one but they have generated five scores to none from this source.

Q1 21:18

GOALBulldogs (Tom Liberatore)

Q1 18:58

The Dogs have scored from 12 per cent of kickins this season, the second-highest percentage of any side.

Q1 18:56

GOALBulldogs (Tory Dickson)

Q1 17:25

BEHINDEagles (Rushed)

Q1 15:25

Both teams have launched their goals from forward half intercepts.

Q1 15:23

GOALBulldogs (Caleb Daniel)

Q1 14:35

BEHINDBulldogs (Jake Stringer)

Q1 12:59

The Dogs have won 19 intercept possessions per game in attacking midfield this season, the fewest of any finalist. They have already won five early in this game with their fifth launching their first goal.

Q1 12:57

GOALBulldogs (Liam Picken)

Q1 09:47

The Dogs have conceded just 20 points per game this season from forward half turnovers, the secondfewest of any side. They have conceded 12 points from this source early in this game.

Q1 09:45

GOALEagles (Jack Darling)

Q1 07:41

West Coast has scored just seven points per game this season from forward 50 intercepts, the fewest of any finalist.

Q1 07:39

GOALEagles (Josh J. Kennedy)

Q1 05:20

BEHINDBulldogs (Tory Dickson)

Q1 04:11

The Bulldogs recorded a kicking efficiency of just 46 per cent against the Dockers in Round 23, the lowest percentage by any side this season. They are kicking at just 31 per cent early in this game.

Q1 04:09

BEHINDBulldogs (Jordan Roughead)

Q1 00:59

BEHINDBulldogs (Lachie Hunter)

Q1 00:00

Q1 is now underway.

Q0 00:10

The Dogs have won the contested possession count by 14 per game this season, the best differential of any team. They won this count by 39 when they met the Eagles in Round 11, their third best differential in any game this season.

Q0 00:10

West Coast has generated an inside 50 from just 20 per cent of defensive 50 chains this season, the lowest percentage of any finalist, but it has launched 93 points from this zone, the fourthmost of any finalist.

They were the first team in league history to register 16 wins and miss the top-four, but they saved their worst performance of the season for a cut-throat final. It was their largest loss in a home final and their second-lowest score of the season.

"The way (the Bulldogs) played is the way they've been playing all year. We couldn't handle it, obviously.

The decision to play an injured Scott Lycett and Mitch Brown in the same side backfired. Lycett was severely hampered by his left knee injury throughout the night while Brown had little impact with the exception of a gifted goal in the second term.

"Look you can always reflect on those things and I'm sure we will," Simpson said.

"But no I don't think Mitch Brown was the difference between us winning and losing tonight."

The Bulldogs thoroughly deserved their victory.

They won the contested possession count by 23 and the clearances by eight to set the tone in the midfield.

The Bulldogs applied ferocious pressure on the Eagles from the opening bounce and never relented.

They wasted some opportunities early, kicking three behinds to the Eagles' two goals in the opening 10 minutes. But from there they kicked nine of the next 10 goals, including seven in a row, to stun the Eagles crowd into silence.

The Bulldogs ability to force the Eagles' defence to defend rather than zone off and intercept was a huge key. They produced 29 scores from 55 entries and could have won by more had they taken a few more chances.

At the other end they kept the Eagles to their lowest score at home since 2014.

Josh Kennedy was held to just two goals. The Bulldogs kept the Coleman medallist to just one goal back in round 11.

The home side was unable to expose the Dogs for height, taking just nine marks inside 50 to the Bulldogs 12

The win did come at a cost as the Bulldogs suffered yet another serious injury with Lin Jong breaking his collarbone when he was tackled by Jeremy McGovern in the second term. Jong's season is over and may have played his last game for the club.

MEDICAL ROOMWest Coast: Lycett carried his knee problem into the game. He hurt laying a tackle in the first term and had to go to the rooms. He returned to play out the game but was clearly hampered throughout. Simpson confirmed after the match that he will need surgery to repair the damage in his knee.

Western Bulldogs: Jong broke his collarbone when tackled by Jeremy McGovern in the second term. He played no further part and Luke Beveridge confirmed after the match his season is over.

NEXT UPWest Coast's season is over, while the Bulldogs will be at the MCG next week against the loser of the Geelong-Hawthorn qualifying final.